UP FRONT
Midwest Consul General:
Israel Closer To Talks
AMY J. MEHLER
Staff Writer
itzhak Shamir's
government is close
to agreeing to Secre-
tary of State James A.
Baker's proposal for a peace
conference, said Israeli
Midwest Consul General
.Yitschak Ben-Gad at a
Detroit press conference this
week.
The peace talks, to be
jointly sponsored by the
United States and the Soviet
Union, call for a single open-
ing session to be followed by
direct talks between Israel
and the Palestinians and
each of the Arab states.
Dr. Ben-Gad, the highest
ranking Israeli official in the
Midwest, said Israel is
waiting for some clarifica-
tion from the American
government, but is convinc-
ed the United States has
promised no secret deals
to Syria. He is confident
the United Nations will act
as a silent observer and that
Syria will come to the
negotiations with no pre-
conditions.
"The peace process was be-
cause of Israel's initiative in
May 1989," Dr. Ben-Gad
said. "Syria's reply, if
truthful, is a turning point
in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
For 43 years, Israel has
called on the Syrians to stop
the shooting and start nego-
tiating."
Dr. Ben-Gad, who replaces
former Consul General Uri
Bar-Ner, said the peace con-
ference would likely stop
after a couple of days and
break into subcommittees
between Israel and Syria,
Israel and Saudi Arabia,
Israel and Lebanon, Israel
and the Palestinians and
Israel and Jordan.
Israel, however, remains
unshakable in its refusal to
"Lake Michigan is
three times the
size of Israel."
Yitschak Ben-Gad
talk to any Palestinians
with connections to the
Palestine Liberation-Organ-
ization, which it regards as a
terrorist organization, or
any Palestinian delegates
from east Jerusalem, the
West Bank or Gaza Strip.
Dr. Ben-Gad said such a
move would cast doubt over
Israel's sovereignty over
Jerusalem, the country's
capital, and its control over
lands captured as a result of
the 1967 Middle East war.
What Israel will negotiate
for, Dr. Ben-Gad said, is
economic cooperation and
possible autonomy for the
Palestinians living on the
West Bank.
"Israel expects the United
States to be an honest broker
and not a judge," said Dr.
Ben-Gad, the former deputy
mayor of Netanya. "Israel
also wants assurances there
will be no limitations on
time and that negotiations
continue as long as they are
needed."
Dr. Ben-Gad, the author of
Politics, Lies and Videotape,
a book probing the myths
and facts surrounding the
Arab-Israeli conflict, said
the real issue isn't about ter-
ritory or refugees, but
whether or not the Arabs,
especially Syria, are willing
to accept Israel as a reality.
But while Syria's rhetoric
has been peacelike, Dr. Ben-
Gad said, its movements
have been warlike.
"If they (the Arabs) accept
that reality, then 98 percent
of our problems could be
solved," he said. "But
they've never recognized
Israel's right to breathe."
Dr. Ben-Gad, the former
executive director of the
Hafez al-Assad murdered
20,000 of his own people, Dr.
Ben-Gad said. In 1986, he
said, a Syrian intelligence
officer almost destroyed an
El Al flight over London
which carried 400 passen-
gers. In 1989, Pan Am flight
103 exploded over Locherbie,
Scotland, killing 259 people
on board. Dr. Ben-Gad said
Syrian terrorist Ahmed
Jabril is responsible.
"If the Syrians now are
changing," he said, "then no
one is happier than our peo-
ple. But Israel will not do
what Syria wants: restore
Israel to the way it was
before 1967.
"What country gives back
land captured in a war of
defense, a war it didn't in-
stigate?" Dr. Ben-Gad said.
"The 21 Arab states are 640
times the size of Israel, in-
cluding Judea, Samaria and
the Gaza Strip," he said.
"Israel is the size of New
Jersey," he said. "Lake
Michigan is three times the
size of Israel. The Arab
countries control 60 percent
of the oil. Israel has no oil
and hardly has water."
Dr. Ben-Gad, an officer in
the Israel Defense Force and
the seventh son of the late
chief rabbi of Tripoli, Libya,
Rabbi Gad Macluf, said no
one in Israel wants to fight
or be a soldier.
"Up till now, we've had no
choice," he said. "As we say
in Israel, ein breyrah (it's
enough)." 111
Yitschak Ben-Gad:
Leery of Syria.
Association for the Security
of Israel, said Syria's receipt
of three Scud shipments
following the Gulf War did
little to instill confidence.
"They (Syria) received
Scuds that are more soph-
isticated than the ones that
fell on our (Israeli) heads,"
Dr. Ben-Gad said. "Why
have they bought such soph-
isticated weapons if they're
interested in peace?"
Dr. Ben-Gad, who accom-
panied the first Israeli dele-
gation to Cairo in 1977, said
Israel must be very careful
in dealing with the Syrians.
In 1967, the Syrians took
28 Israeli soldiers prisoner of
war. Two Syrian soldiers
were ordered to murder all of
them.
In 1982, Syrian President
ROUND UP
Good News! Israel
Goes To The Dogs
Warrington, Pa. — Noach
Braun had a dream that he
would someday train Israelis
in the use of guide dogs.
Norman Leventhal of Warr-
ington, Pa., heard about Mr.
Braun's dream and was de-
termined to help him.
Last month, Mr. Leventhal
and the Warrington Lions
Club brought Mr. Braun's
dream a little closer to real-
ity. The Lions Club present-
ed a $500 check to Mr.
Leventhal, founder of the
Israel Guide Dog Center for
the Blind and head of its
U.S. board of directors. The
contribution will go toward a
campaign to raise $750,000
to construct and operate a
nonprofit center to train
guide dog instructors like
Noach Braun.
The first guide dog unit of
the Israeli Guide Dog Center
for the Blind graduated June
5. The first graduate was
Chaim Tsur of Jerusalem,
Tsur said, "There are no
words to describe how well
this dog is trained. I'm shak-
ing with joy."
The new center will in-
clude housing for blind
trainees, a kennel facility
and obedience training area
and a park to help students
gain confidence with their
guide dogs.
According to Mr. Leven-
thal, there are some 8,000
blind or severely visually
impaired Israelis, a number
of whom were blinded while
serving in the Israel Defense
Force. Of these 8,000, about
100 use guide dogs.
Chaim Tsur and Tillie.
director of the Jewish
Folklore Department at
Israel Radio and a concert
violinist. Mr. Tsur was
paired with Tillie, a yellow
Labrador retriever imported
from the Guide Dogs for the
Blind Association in
England.
After his graduation, Mr.
Israel had a guide-dog
training center from 1953 to
1970, but it closed after its
director died. Since then,
blind persons seeking the
independence of a guide dog
have had to travel outside
the country for training. The
new Israel Guide Dog Center
for the Blind will provide
dogs at no charge to
students. Funding will be
provided through private
contributions.
For information, contact.
the Israeli Guide Dog Center
for the Blind's U.S. office,
701 Easton Rd., Warrington,
Pa., 18976, or call (215) 343-
0373.
Move Over, Arnold:
Yitzhak's Here
Jerusalem (Reuters) — An
American body-building
magazine has named Israel's
Prime Minister Yitzhak
Shamir man of the year, ac-
cording to a government
spokesman.
The spokesman, Avi
Pazner, said Mr. Shamir, 75,
was chosen not for his phy-
sique but for showing re-
straint during the Persian
Gulf War, when Israel did
not retaliate against Iraqi
Scud missiles.
Dan Lurie, publisher of
Muscle Training Illustrated,
said he would present the
award to Mr. Shamir.
Heritage Council
Surveys Monuments
New York — The Jewish
Heritage Council of the
World Monuments Fund is
undertaking a survey and
inventory of thousands of
cemeteries, monuments and
historical religious buildings
in central and Eastern
Europe.
The Heritage Council is
conducting the survey on
behalf of the U.S. Commis-
sion for Preservation of
America's Heritage Abroad.
The first phase of the pro-
ject involves the identifica-
tion and description of sites
in Poland, .Czechoslovakia
and Hungary. The goal is to
increase protection of these
and other monuments.
For information, contact
Sam Gruber at the Jewish
Heritage Council, 174 E.
80th St., New York, N.Y.
10021, (212) 517-9367.
Compiled by
Elizabeth Applebaum
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
11